Easy Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons

Caesar Salads are one of our easy go to meals. We aren't big on bottled dressings around here. In fact, I don't think I've bought a bottle of salad dressing in years! Why would you want to when you can whip up a homemade version that tastes better, is less expensive, and just as easy? This salad is so good. A garlicy dressing with a savory bite to it, the salty parmesan and don't get me started on these crunchy on the outside chewy on the inside herbalicious croutons. So so good.

Dressing: 1 tsp salt1 garlic clove (minced in a garlic press)3 tsp anchovy paste2 egg yolks (no whites!) 1 tbs dijon mustardJuice of 2 lemons2 tbs water1/2 cup olive oil1/4 cup grated parmesan 1/2 tsp pepper Mix all of your dressing ingredients in a mini prep food processor as you add them so that the olive oil can emulsify. If you don't have a mini prep, you can use a whisk, just beat it super hard until it all mixes together.)Salad: 2 heads romaine lettuce, washed, spun in salad spinner, and cut up into bite sized piecesHomemade croutons (see recipe below)1/3 cup grated parmesan1-2 breasts cooked chicken, cut up into bite sized pieces and cooledCroutons: Cut 1/2 of an Italian loaf bread into large squares. Spray the bread with your olive oil mister. (Or just drizzle if you don't have a mister).Sprinkle liberally with Italian seasoning.Season with salt and pepper. Bake in oven at 425 for 10 minutes. These are flavorful, crunchy on the outside yet a little tender on the inside. They are much healthier and yummier than any type of crouton you can get in the store. Look at these beauties!

Once you have your dressing and croutons made, you can simply assemble your salad and serve it immediately This will make about 4 meal sized salads. This is the type of caesar salad you would expect to be served at a lovely restaurant, only now you can enjoy it at home in just minutes. Bon Appetite!